The Risks

In the past it was easy to separate corporate traffic from jobseekers. The jobseekers used a row of computers and staff had a computer on their desk so there was physical separation. With the introduction of wireless networks it’s become a little bit harder and the risk of someone connecting to the corporate network who shouldn’t goes up.

The danger of unauthorised devices is that they may not have anti-virus software on them if fact you have no idea what is connecting. Activities that seem harmless to the end user such as using Skype or downloading music can slow down the network for others. It is better to be able to control access and limit what can be done.

Lots of places use static wireless passwords which does have its’ problems. Once the wireless password is known it’s very easy for staff members to add their own devices without any authorisation or to give it to other staff members. Pretty soon the number of devices on the wireless network is out of control.

Options

All is not lost however, there are solutions available that can identify what a device is, is it company issued, does it have anti-virus etc? Such solutions allow organisations to enforce fair usage policy on devices and under what circumstances they can access the wireless and more importantly ensure that when they do, it is done securely.

Of course one method is just ban wireless. No wireless, no personal BYOD devices. It’s limiting but secure.

Another approach is to provide a guest wireless network. With a guest network, jobseekers can request access from a staff member who gives them a wireless access key that expires after few hours. Alternatively, if you have ever used the wireless at McDonalds then you would have seen a webpage of terms and conditions that you accept before being given guest access. The advantage of this approach is that it’s self-service, but at a cost. By opening up a guest network it is also available to anyone in the neighborhood who is within range. A guest network can be configured in such a way that guests can only access the internet and specified internal resources thus minimising the risk.

It’s not just about security

First of all, let’s be clear, you can never please everyone. Network performance is a problem in all industries and nine times out of ten its resolved by becoming acceptable, not optimal. Allowing more access to any network must be balanced with managing capacity. With all these potential extra people on the wireless network it’s important that speed doesn’t suffer. Whether through managing the number of users, or throttling the bandwidth available you must ensure that your wireless infrastructure can handle the peak loads.

The gains outweigh the costs

So why even have wireless? Well there are many benefits to providing wireless network access to staff and jobseekers. For jobseekers it may mean they can bring their own devices (laptop, smartphones, tablets). For staff they can move around the business easily with their devices which makes their job easier and therefore they are more productive.

Set the Policy first then worry about the Technology.

I’ve spoken about technology but the first step has to be setting a policy. Here are some key points to get you started;

• Should staff have wireless access?
• Should it be restricted to certain people?
• Should wireless be restricted to certain devices? Laptops, iPhones, iPads
• Should jobseekers be given wireless access?
• What resources will staff be given wireless access to?
• What resources will jobseekers be given wireless access to?
• What is the process for staff to get approval for a device?

About Mark

Mark Elliott has been working in IT for over 13 years. Starting as network and security engineer Mark has worked for IT and Telecommunications companies in Sydney, Australia. Now based at CustomTec he is responsible for customer account management and business development across Australia, NZ and South East Asia.

If you have any challenges of your own then contact CustomTec  and we would happy to assist.